NCJ Number
172676
Journal
Corrections Management Quarterly Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: Summer 1998 Pages: 70-78
Date Published
1998
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Recent changes in Michigan's sentencing and corrections policies are examined, with emphasis on how community corrections programs were affected by the focus on increased offender accountability and public safety.
Abstract
Michigan has paralleled the national trend toward tougher penalties and increasing use of incarceration. However, the get-tough approach to offenders brought forth a new emphasis on alternative programs and intermediate sanctions. The State restructured many of the elements of its community corrections programs, including staffing and probationer supervision, the community residential program, and parole supervision. The implementation of tougher standards in the operation of the community corrections programs significantly increased the return of probation and parole violators to prison, but total prison admissions increased only 1.6 percent. The Michigan experience demonstrates that a commitment to offender accountability within community corrections programs can be achieved without creating a prison overcrowding crisis. Figures, table, and 5 suggested readings